Legal Practice Notes

Maritime arbitration is an established route for resolving disputes in international trade and commerce. Sea-related matters suitable for consensually agreed procedures span a wide spectrum: the financing, construction, sale and acquisition of ships; their deployment; the carriage of goods by sea; the insurance of ships, cargo and other marine adventures; and other contractual relationships arising from the use of ships, for example salvage. Historically, London and New York have been the foremost centres of maritime arbitration. In recent years, Singapore and China have invested considerably in developing arbitral systems and encouraging the maritime community to choose their venues for settling maritime disputes. The Asia- Pacific region’s economic expansion, and the accompanying increase in trade flows, is being matched by a wish within that maritime community to resolve disputes in their own vicinity. Types of maritime...

Practice Note This Practice Note outlines the formal and practical considerations relevant to taking instructions, preparing, and advising on a marital or civil partnership agreement, along with the overarching principles. It encompasses pre-nuptial (pre-marital), post-nuptial, separation and maintenance agreements. It also addresses vitiating factors, reviews, variation, and inheritance issues. Following the Supreme Court ruling in Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino, such an agreement may prove 'decisive' so long as it is 'fair'. The method of drafting and the observance of formal requirements surrounding a marital or civil partnership agreement can be pivotal when assessing if, and to what degree, the agreement will be enforced. No party should sign an agreement without the intention to be bound by its terms. Each party ought to be given the chance to obtain independent legal advice on the agreement’s provisions, see Practice Note: Marital and civil...

Disclosure prior to entering into a marital or civil partnership agreement This Practice Note explains the relevant principles governing disclosure before the making of a marital or civil partnership agreement, covering pre‑nuptial, post‑nuptial and separation agreements. It examines the approach in the Supreme Court decision of Radmacher, and the subsequent case law, together with practical issues and drafting points that arise when addressing and managing disclosure in practice. In Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino, Lord Phillips set out (at [69]) the position on disclosure by the parties ahead of entering such agreements, and the factors by which a court will assess whether a party had a ‘full appreciation’ of the agreement’s implications. He noted that competent legal advice is plainly advisable, since this will help ensure a party understands the effect of the agreement, and that full disclosure of any assets owned by the other party may,...

in England and Wales Nature conservation in England and Wales is underpinned by a blend of international, European and national instruments, which comprise: Convention on Biological Diversity 1992 ( CBD) Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North- East Atlantic 1992 ( OSPAR Convention) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES) United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 ( UNCLOS) Habitats Directive 92/43/ EEC ( Habitats Directive) and Birds Directive 2009/147/ EC ( Birds Directive), see Habitats and Birds Directives below Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, SI 2017/1012 (the Habitats Regulations 2017) Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, SI 2017/1013 (the Offshore Regulations 2017) Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 ( WCA 1981) Species specific...

Marine Protected Areas Marine Protected Areas ( MPAs) are sea zones created to safeguard habitats, species and the natural processes vital for resilient, well‑functioning marine ecosystems. Their role is to protect and help recover rare, threatened and noteworthy habitats and species from harm arising from human activity. In England, MPAs are designated for specific habitats or species (often called ‘features’) and carry conservation objectives that set out the outcomes each site is intended to achieve. Much UK policy and legislation on plastics and plastic pollution is likewise aimed at protecting the marine environment. For more information, see Practice Note: Waste types and controls—plastics. There are roughly 180 MPAs in English waters, covering about 50% of inshore and 37% of offshore waters. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee ( JNCC), the statutory adviser to the UK Government and devolved...

Establishment of the Marine Management Organisation The Marine Management Organisation ( MMO) came into being on 1 April 2010 through the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 ( MCAA 2009). It regulates activities at sea around England, and matters concerning vessels registered to ports in England, anywhere in the world. Further duties and powers followed in the Fisheries Act 2020. The MMO is an executive non-departmental public body. Working at arm’s length from government, it is accountable to the Secretary of State ( So S) for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ( Defra) and is part of the Defra Group. The MMO also has cross departmental responsibilities and, for these, is answerable to the So S for each relevant department. Where statute permits, government may request the MMO to undertake additional functions or new work, either on a permanent or...

Legislative context Under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 ( MCAA 2009), the marine licensing regime brought in an independent route of appeal, allowing applicants to challenge licensing determinations taken pursuant to MCAA 2009, s 71. Section 73 of MCAA 2009 requires that supplementary regulations be made so that anyone seeking a marine licence can contest a licensing decision issued by the relevant licensing authority. That obligation was fulfilled by the Marine Licensing ( Licence Application Appeals) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/934 (the Licence Application Appeals Regulations), which prescribe the procedure for appeals against licence application outcomes. These regulations therefore set out how such appeals are to be brought and determined. The Licence Application Appeals Regulations, SI 2011/934, are intended to promote openness in licensing decisions and to make the decision-maker answerable for the conclusions it reaches. From 6 April 2011, those applying for a...

CASE HUB ( NOTE—appeal lodged by Marine Harvest before the Court of Justice in Case C-10/08 Marine Harvest v Commission (failure to notify)) ARCHIVED This archived case hub sets out the position as at the judgment of 26 October 2017; it is no longer being updated entirely. See further, the timeline, commentary and related or relevant cases. Case facts Outline Appeal to the General Court against the European Commission decision penalising Marine Harvest for not notifying its acquisition of control over Morpol and for breaching the standstill obligation. Latest development On 7 March 2017, the General Court delivered its judgment, ultimately dismissing an action for annulment of the Commission’s decision to levy fines for failure to notify a merger and for non-compliance with the standstill rule brought by Marine Harvest. Parties Applicant: Marine Harvest. Defendant: European Commission. Marine Harvest is a Norwegian seafood company producing farmed salmon, white halibut and a...

Marine licensing requirements for construction activities A marine licence is needed to build, alter or upgrade any works within the UK marine licensing area where they are situated: in or over the sea bed on or under the sea bed As well as projects where some or all construction occurs on the foreshore or elsewhere in the inshore region, developments positioned beside marine waters may still include elements that are fixed in, or even extend over, the marine area. Examples include placing scaffolding, or bridges across tidal rivers such as the River Thames, which remains tidal inland as far as Teddington Lock. These parts of the works are captured by the marine licensing regime in Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 ( MCAA 2009). For general information on applying for a marine licence, see Practice Note: Marine...

Part 5 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 ( MCAA 2009) Confers a power, across most UK waters, to designate marine conservation zones ( MCZs) and in practice, displaces the former power under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to establish Marine Nature Reserves. This note specifically concentrates on MCZs in England and Wales. For broader guidance on MCAA 2009, see Practice Note: Marine planning under Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. MCZs also set up protected marine sites and sit alongside other designations within the marine protected areas network, including Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protected Areas and Marine Protected Areas. For further detail on the marine protected areas network, see Practice Note: Marine protected areas. For information on changes introduced by the Fisheries Act 2020, see Practice Note: Fisheries Act 2020–snapshot— Increased research and...

What is marine cargo insurance? To determine whether cargo cover amounts to marine insurance, one must look to the Marine Insurance Act 1906. Under MIA 1906, s 1, a marine insurance contract is one in which the insurer promises, on the agreed terms and within the agreed limits, to indemnify the assured for marine losses, meaning losses arising out of a marine adventure. MIA 1906, s 3 describes maritime perils as risks caused by, or linked to, the navigation of the sea. These encompass perils of the seas, fire, war perils, pirates, rovers, thieves, capture, seizure, restraint and detention by princes and peoples, jettison, barratry, and any other hazards of a similar character or identified by the policy. Accordingly, whether a policy is marine insurance turns on whether the insured risks are those consequent on, or incidental to, going to sea......

Margin squeeze Margin squeeze is a form of exclusionary behaviour aimed at rivals, intended to remove them or undermine their viability—either by driving them from the market or by deterring entry at the outset. Where a vertically integrated firm holds a dominant position in an upstream market for a vital input and also supplies that input to wholesale customers who compete at retail, it can have both the means and the incentive to exclude those competitors from the downstream market. The dominant firm compresses retail rivals’ margins by setting a high wholesale charge, a low retail price, or a mix of the two, thereby narrowing the gap between the cost of essential inputs and the price attainable in the retail market. Consequently, the spread between the dominant undertaking’s retail price for the product or service and the wholesale price it levies on its rivals is...

Hot topic—extension of fixed recoverable costs ( FRC) ARCHIVED: This archived Horizon scanner reviews both recent and forthcoming developments of interest to Dispute Resolution ( DR) lawyers as at 9 March 2023 date. Sophie Houghton, a solicitor in the Dispute Resolution Lexis+® UK team, examines the planned extension of FRC, scheduled to take legal effect in October 2023. The widened FRC will apply where the cause of action arises on or after 1 October 2023 and will strictly not have retrospective effect at all. As extended, FRC will attach to fast track claims seeking debt, damages or other monetary relief, save where the rules expressly exclude them. Unlike the current FRC framework, the new regime is far broader in scope and anticipates longer, higher-value and more intricate disputes. CPR 45 (fixed costs) is being revised to incorporate the fresh provisions, and draft rules for the FRC...

At 11 pm ( GMT) on 31 December 2020, the Brexit transition/implementation period that followed the UK’s departure from the EU concluded. From this point—labelled ‘ IP completion day’ in UK legislation—principal transitional provisions ended and major changes began to operate across the UK legal regime. For guidance on CE and UKCA marking, the revisions made by the Waste ( Miscellaneous Amendments) ( EU Exit) ( No 2) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/188 and the Hazardous Substances and Packaging ( Legislative Functions and Amendment) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1647, and on post- Brexit divergences, see Practice Note: GB Restriction of hazardous substances ( GB Ro HS)—scope— Brexit. Ro HS Regulations 2012 The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012, SI 2012/3032 ( Ro HS Regulations 2012) implement Directive 2011/65/ EU on restricting the use of certain...

This Practice Note addresses the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 ( MHO Regs 1992), SI 1992/2793. These regulations set out employers’ obligations concerning manual handling tasks. So far as is reasonably practicable, employers should prevent employees from carrying out any manual handling that poses a risk of injury. Where avoiding such activity is not reasonably practicable, employers must conduct a risk assessment and implement suitable measures to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level reasonably practicable. The effect of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 ( ERRA 2013) on manual handling claims is considered. As the regulations provide clear direction on assessing and managing risk, they are plainly positioned to inform the common law... Post 1 October 2013 On 1 October 2013, section 69 of ERRA 2013 came into force. For workplace accidents occurring from that date, a breach of...

Manual handling is among the most frequent causes of workplace injury, and harm arising in this way can be severe and long-lasting. It is therefore essential to control manual handling risks carefully—do not assume it is immaterial in an office setting. This Practice Note outlines regulatory requirements for manual handling in an office-based workplace and offers suggestions for managing risk at your premises. Different industries or workplaces may have additional, specific considerations to take into account. What is manual handling? Manual handling covers a broad spectrum of activities, such as: lifting lowering pushing pulling carrying loads In offices, typical loads include: boxes files filing cabinets other office furniture and equipment, eg computers, photocopy paper Regulatory requirements Regulatory requirements concerning manual handling appear in several sources. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 ( HSWA 1974) remains the...

This Practice Note presents a summary of the position in respect of manorial rights, which encompass sporting rights, mineral rights, and the right to hold markets or fairs. It details the registration requirements applicable to these rights, and provides an account of how manorial rights may have arisen where land was formerly copyhold or became subject to an inclosure award. Origins of manorial rights They are remnants of the feudal system of land tenure. They can still subsist today in relation to land that: is former copyhold land, or was inclosed pursuant to an inclosure award Copyhold Copyhold was a form of tenure that developed from medieval customary practice and existed alongside freehold and leasehold tenure. It was held subject to certain manorial rights that could be exercised by the lord of the manor. Copyhold was abolished by the Law of Property Act 1922 ( LPA 1922). A number of...

For the family lawyer, time is a precious currency. Across the profession, the focus has only lately begun to move from billing hours towards delivering ‘a great job’, encouraged by the steady roll-out of fixed fees across the market. Nevertheless, the greater the number of ‘great jobs’ completed in a lawyer’s day, the more profitable the firm and the individual family lawyer. Everyone appears to be pushed to achieve more in fewer hours. So how can family lawyers keep on top of their caseload while remaining content with their work–life balance? The human body-clock, concentration and productivity Only a limited number of hours in any day are truly, consistently productive. Our bodies follow an internal circadian rhythm, meaning each of us experiences periods when we are more, or less, effective. Being mindful of this inner clock allows a family lawyer to schedule tasks, and...

You can run virtual meetings by phone, on a video call or through dedicated online platforms and software, often saving considerable time and money compared with in-person sessions. Yet chairing (or merely joining) a virtual meeting is not the same as doing so in a face-to-face setting. Treat it like a conventional meeting and you risk, at best, irritation and, at worst, disorder and delay. This Practice Note sets out advice on planning and running virtual meetings, highlighting tricky areas and practical ways to navigate them effectively. It concentrates on the most problematic elements and the smartest ways to work around them in practice. This includes: why they differ from in-person meetings the value of nailing the fundamentals how to craft an agenda essential chairing skills for virtual sessions the technology behind virtual meetings preventing frequent...

This Practice Note highlights challenges that can arise with certain witnesses, such as whether any payments may properly be made to them, and how to manage a witness who does not speak English. It also considers taking depositions for witnesses who are absent, and the use of witness summaries. This Practice Note does not deal with vulnerable witnesses—for additional guidance, see Practice Note: Planning, interviewing and choosing witnesses— Vulnerable witnesses. Nor does it cover the requirements for preparing trial witness statements in the Business and Property Courts, which are governed by CPR PD 57AD; see also Practice Note: Trial witness statements in the Business and Property Courts under CPR PD 57AC. How do I handle an unco-operative witness? You may encounter a potential witness who is reluctant to give evidence. There could be many reasons; it is often prudent to explore why and whether you can allay their...